Brutal Secrets
by hanakinstarbuck
Summary: What could a ruthless group of Romulans want with Spock? Why'd they drag Christine Chapel along? Only time will tell........
1. Chapter 1

Brutal Secrets  
  
By Hanakin  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
  
Hey y'all! It's me, Hanakin, with another wonderful tale about Spock and Chris. Hope you like!!  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, nor do I own Paramount. Nor do I own a butter-covered bald monkey, but that's another story......  
  
  
  
Christine Chapel screamed helplessly as pain coursed through every fiber of her body, tears streaming down her face through her closed eyes. The Romulan at her back continued mercilessly to amplify the throbbing sensation flowing through her veins. After what seemed like an eternity, the agony slowly faded, and Chris tenderly opened her eyes to glare at her captor with burning disgust.  
  
  
  
He looks so much like Spock, she thought. That had been the first thing she had noticed. Same slanted eyebrows, same pointed ears, same chocolate-brown eyes, same lanky frame. But, unlike Spock, his eyes had a cruel glint in them, and his thin lips were curled into an evil smirk. He was nothing like Spock.  
  
  
  
The Romulan commander, called Stovran by his subordinates, waited anxiously for her to break down, beg for mercy, and tell him the information he was after. Instead, she sat, glaring hatefully at him, and bit her lip to keep more tears from spilling over. Every part of her body ached with remnants of the terrible pain. When Stovran realized that she wasn't going to talk, he sighed, annoyed, and waved a hand toward the two guards, who unlatched Christine's wrists and ankles from the torture device she was attached to, and dragged her roughly back to the cell she and Spock shared.  
  
  
  
She waited until the guards had disappeared behind the translucent forcefield before tears flooded her eyes. She lay vulnerable on the floor of the tiny cell, sobbing. Spock watched impassively from the other side, and at that moment, she hated him. Damn him! Why must he be so damned logical and emotionless? She lifted her aching head from the floor, glaring fiercely at him as he watched her from his little corner. Their eyes locked for just a moment, and Christine could see the sadness in his eyes. She attempted to rise to her hands and knees, but her elbows and legs wobbled so violently that she collapsed back onto the ground.  
  
  
  
She didn't know how long she had been lying there, listening to the rhythmic humming of the forcefield that surrounded the two of them. It seemed like forever, but she figured it was only a few hours. She thought back on the events of the past day, trying to remember how again she had gotten into this mess.  
  
*********************************FLASHBACK**********************************  
  
  
  
  
  
It had started just like any other day, but don't they always? She had reported to sickbay at 0700 hours, and found a cranky McCoy waiting for her. McCoy had never been a morning person, even in space. Only After downing his fourth cup of coffee did he resemble a human, and even then it was a stretch.  
  
  
  
When she had first begun serving under McCoy, his gruff attitude and skeptical nature had been difficult to deal with, and they hadn't got along very well. Over time, though, they'd become pretty good friends, and McCoy had even realized, rather reluctantly, that Christine was nearly his equal in medical proficiency. He'd even given up his position on half the landing party missions, because, in his words, "you need all the experience you can get, if you wanna be a doctor."  
  
  
  
The Enterprise was orbiting Spacestation 12, and a landing party had been preparing to beam down. They had received a message from Commodore Grijalva, the leader aboard the spacestation, that an unknown enemy was attacking the station. Kirk, fearing the worst, had raced over at top speed, and had found his fears confirmed. The spacestation was in pretty bad shape: its surface was peppered with score marks, and a huge, gaping hole was blown into one side.  
  
  
  
Both McCoy and Christine had been assigned to this mission, along with Lts. Uhura and Sulu, Spock, and Captain Kirk. All six stood unsettled on the transporter pads, reluctant to face the wreckage that lay before them. They all knew that survivors of this vicious holocaust would be few and far between.  
  
  
  
Chris closed her eyes as she felt her body being taken apart molecule by molecule. Never one for intraspace travel, she sighed in relief when she felt her feet again on solid ground. She heard a similar sigh to her right, and knew McCoy was glad as well. Must be our medical training, she mused. Knowing how the body worked gathered a whole new sense of appreciation for it, and gave a person enough sense not to go running off on dangerous ventures without good reason.  
  
  
  
Chris opened her eyes and looked around. She cringed involuntarily at the awful sight before them. Bodies were strewn haphazardly across the shattered room, many of which were still. Suddenly one moved slightly, groaning in pain, and Chris raced over to attempt to salvage some small part of the poor man's life. He stared, openmouthed, into her eyes, hideous burns spread across most of his face and body. Tears stung Christine's eyes. He couldn't have been more than twenty.  
  
  
  
"They destroyed the station," He rasped with much difficulty. "Killed innocent." He coughed weakly, and Chris tried to shush him, to keep him from injuring himself more.  
  
  
  
"Damn Ro-," hoarse coughs again racked his body. "Rom-" He never finished his sentence, and his body went slack in Christine's arms. She muttered a few choice words, then gritted her teeth and gently placed the dead man's body on the ground. She hoped that whoever had done this to these poor people hadn't stuck around for more.  
  
  
  
How wrong she was. 


	2. Chapter 2

Brutal Secrets  
  
By Nevfennasiel (formerly Space Cadet JJ, formerly Hanakin.)  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Still don't own Star Trek. Sorry.  
  
Thanks to all who reviewed. Just to let you know, you made my spot in the world a bit brighter. ^_^  
  
  
  
She lifted her head when she heard the forcefield surrounding the two of them click off. Must've dozed off, she thought blankly. It felt like they'd been stranded together for months, but it was probably closer to a couple of days, at most.  
  
The two Romulan guards entered the little cell, and Christine stared hatefully at them through her blurred vision. One glanced at her in her pitiful state and smirked, but did nothing else to acknowledge her presence. She could feel their bodies sweep past her as they marched toward Spock. They prodded him to his feet, and Christine felt determination and newly gained strength flood her limbs. She rose shakily on all fours, grimacing as the familiar pain surged through her veins. She ignored it as best she could, though, and slowly rose to her feet, the Romulans, along with Spock, watching in mild surprise as she tottered forward. She couldn't let them do this to Spock. It was one thing to have herself humiliated, but to see the same happen to the Vulcan she cared so deeply for was something different entirely.  
  
She glared menacingly at the Romulan guards, who called themselves Redoj and Sipok. Spock stood, still staring impassively as she inched toward the three of them. Finally, Redoj spoke.  
  
"What do you think you're doing, human girl?" He spat.  
  
"You're not taking him!" Christine said defiantly, trying not to scream as harsh pain burned her throat. Sipok laughed and stalked toward her, attempting to make her flinch or cower. She did neither.  
  
"How are you going to stop us, Lipka?" He cursed her in Algian. Spock's eyebrows rose slightly. Romulans weren't known for studying alien languages.  
  
Christine stood her ground. Sipok stared her down, and for a moment, no one moved as to not disturb the mounting tension. Finally, Sipok laughed mockingly at the irate woman, and grasped Spock's arm, helping Redoj drag the Vulcan out of the forcefield at great speed. Christine attempted to grab at them and pull Spock back, but she wasn't quick enough, and the front field clicked back into place just as she reached it. Defeated, she sunk to the floor, one last, dismal hope floating away. Maybe Spock wouldn't suffer as much as she. Her aching eyes closed painfully, and sleep drifted over her, though she tried to push it away. She could sleep now, not when Spock was facing the same stuff she had. Not now.....  
  
  
  
*****************Flashback****************  
  
Gathering herself from the floor, she moved on to the next victim, and they all seemed to blur together after a while. Eventually she moved into another room, on and on for hours, so that even the most horrific injuries didn't faze her anymore. Never in her life had she seen such a massacre as this. McCoy, having much more experience than she, also seemed to be horrified and numb at the same time. A few more teams were called in after they had discovered the extent of the injuries to the Starbase crew. Finally, after an eternity, all that could be helped of the hundreds of people aboard were helped.  
  
Christine had just closed her communicator and watched as the woman in front of her fizzled away and into Sickbay when her eyes met those of Commander Spock. Their gaze held for several seconds, Christine's eyes told of her exhaustion and numbness, and her pain from seeing such appalling destruction. She searched his expression, and behind the logic and emotionless stare, she thought she'd found a bit of sorrow, and maybe something more. Perhaps she was just imagining it.  
  
Finally able to relax, she studied her surroundings. The room appeared to be a type of Rec Hall, very spacious with several tables spread about, a few supporting miniature computers. Or she supposed that was what it had looked like before the attack. Now the tables were strewn sideways, broken into plasteel shards, and the computers smoked in pieces, their circuits blown. Heavy equipment along the walls, which had most likely been Vid games, either had been burned to smoking piles of charred rubble, or fallen over as huge tremors had shaken the Starbase. A few had landed on personnel.  
  
She wasn't the only one in the room. Spock had his tricorder out, scanning anything and everything, just like always. Christine watched him a bit uninterestedly, wondering how anyone, even a Vulcan, could have such reserves of energy to keep going like he. She began to wander leisurely, since they were not going to beam back to the ship for about another 20 minutes, and decided to have a look around the once beautiful Spacestation.  
  
As she wandered about the marred ruins around her, shops like empty skulls staring out at her, she heard her communicator beep, and answered distractedly.  
  
"Chapel here."  
  
"Nurse Chapel? I have need of your assistance in the Medical Facilities as soon as possible." The unfamiliar voice of a young man rang clearly from the speaker of her communicator. Without waiting for an answer he added, "Ensign Grimhan out." Christine was a bit confused.  
  
She walked quickly through the 'street' to the nearest turbolift. She told the computer to stop on Deck 25, and stood waiting for it to stop. What could the ensign want with her? She wondered. She had never met anyone with the name Grimhan, but she supposed it was one of the transfers from the last time the Enterprise had met with the ship Constellation.  
  
* * *  
  
Spock reached for his communicator as it buzzed, indicating he was being signaled.  
  
"Spock here."  
  
"Commander, I need your help with something in the Medical Facilities immediately. " Chapel's unmistakable voice spilled clearly from the communicator. He replied with a simple "Affirmative. Spock out." And shut the cover of the communicator.  
  
He walked through the corridors to the east turbolift, and stood patiently as it took him to Deck 25. His only wish was that Nurse Chapel had specified what she had required assistance with, so that he could be better equipped for what was ahead. However, as he exited the turbolift and walked calmly through the automatic doors of the Starbase sickbay, he was very unprepared, to say the least, for what lay before him.  
  
A Romulan security guard held Nurse Chapel securely around the neck, a disruptor aimed squarely at her temple. Another Romulan stood several feet to his left, his disruptor pointed at Spock's chest. Christine's eyes widened when Spock strode through, and the terror in them increased greatly.  
  
"Spock!" She mouthed, the grip on her throat cutting off her speech. "I'm sorry."  
  
He knew he was too far away to pinch either. His hand twitched slightly toward his phaser, but the Romulan's keen senses picked his movement up, and he thrust the disruptor into his chest, yanking the phaser from his waist, and shoved him toward the others, positioning himself so that Spock could not reach his shoulder to perform the Vulcan Neck Pinch.  
  
The Romulan holding Christine withdrew his phaser just long enough to hail his ship. Christine glanced at Spock with a fearful expression, and noticed his intrepid appearance. A small bit of her fear melted as their eyes met. If he wasn't scared, neither was she.  
  
She felt her body begin to bubble away, and hoped for her sake and Spock's that they would survive.  
  
If only she knew what was coming next.  
  
Sorry I took so long, I write *so* slowly. -_- I'll *try* to get the next chapter of this, along with 'Race Against Time', up as soon as possible, but no promises. By the way, I need any ideas you're willing to give, 'cause I'm running out of my own.  
  
Nevfennasiel 


End file.
